Burkholder v. Lenawee County Road Commission

905 F. Supp. 421, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16005, 1995 WL 637967
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedOctober 26, 1995
DocketNo. 94-CV-71955-DT
StatusPublished

This text of 905 F. Supp. 421 (Burkholder v. Lenawee County Road Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Burkholder v. Lenawee County Road Commission, 905 F. Supp. 421, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16005, 1995 WL 637967 (E.D. Mich. 1995).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

ROSEN, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Wendy Burkholder brought this action on May 19, 1994, seeking to recover for injuries she suffered when a pickup truck in which she was a passenger collided with a Norfolk & Southern train. In addition, her husband, eo-Plaintiff Jeff Burkholder, has asserted a loss-of-consortium claim based on his wife’s injuries.1 Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Lenawee County Road Commission2. breached its duty to her by failing to place and maintain adequate warning devices at [423]*423and leading up to the train crossing. Subject matter jurisdiction in this Court is premised on diversity of citizenship. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1).

Defendant has a motion for summary judgment pending before the Court. Defendant contends that its governmental immunity under Michigan law is not abrogated by any alleged failure to place or maintain traffic control signs adjacent to roadways. Alternatively, Defendant argues that placement of the types of signs Plaintiff alleges should have been present at the train crossing would not have prevented the collision or Plaintiffs injuries.

Having reviewed the materials submitted by the parties, the Court is now prepared to rule on Defendant’s motion. For the reasons set forth below, the Court hereby denies Defendant’s motion for summary judgment.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Wendy Burkholder was a passenger in a pickup truck that was struck by a Norfolk & Southern train at a railroad crossing on May 23, 1992, at approximately 1:14 p.m. At the time of the collision, the truck was travelling eastbound on Packard Road in Lenawee County. The driver of the truck, Wanda Heroy, was killed in the accident, and the driver’s daughter, Christina Heroy Can-field, who was sitting in the middle of the front seat between the driver and Plaintiff, was severely injured.3 In her complaint, Plaintiff alleges that she suffered multiple fractures of both legs, a shattered hip, and numerous internal injuries. Her husband and eo-Plaintiff, Jeff Burkholder, seeks damages for loss of his wife’s consortium.

The accident was investigated by two deputy sheriffs from the Lenawee County Sheriffs Department. Witnesses to the collision include the truck’s surviving passengers4 and the train’s engineer, Floyd Miller. In addition, some local residents who were interviewed as part of the deputy sheriffs’ investigation claimed that they heard the train’s whistle, but did not see the collision.

Although the witnesses and investigators offer varying accounts, they agree on some details. First, weather conditions on the day of the accident were sunny and dry. Next, according to the deposition testimony and reports of the deputy sheriffs, the view of approaching trains from Packard Road was obstructed by trees located on private property, but this view became unobstructed once a vehicle approached to within 50 to 75 feet of the railroad crossing. Finally, Plaintiffs do not dispute that Defendant satisfied its duty under Michigan law to keep the roadway itself safe for vehicular travel.

The parties disagree, however, on the events leading up to the collision. Although Ms. Heroy, the driver of the pickup truck, clearly slowed down at some point before she reached the railroad crossing, testimony varies as to whether she “crept” up to the crossing or whether she was travelling quickly and slowed abruptly just as her truck reached the crossing. In addition, Plaintiff testified in her deposition that the pickup truck’s radio was off, yet she did not hear the train’s horn sound prior to the collision. However, the train engineer and local residents assert that the train’s horn sounded as it approached the crossing.

As of the date of the accident, a sign located approximately 500 feet west of the train tracks on Packard Road warned of the approaching railroad crossing. A forty m.p.h. advisory speed plate was attached to the same sign post. In addition, Packard Road was imprinted with two sets of pavement marks, located approximately 500 and 300 feet west of the tracks, advising motorists of the crossing. Finally, a railroad crossing sign, or “crossbuck,” was placed directly adjacent to the train tracks. There were no stop signs, stop-ahead signs, flashing lights or crossing gates at the site of the collision.

[424]*424Pursuant to its statutory responsibility, the Michigan Department of Transportation (“MDOT”) conducted two “informal site reviews” of the Packard railroad crossing within the three years preceding the collision. These reviews did not result in any recommendations that Defendant take any action at that crossing. However, in response to an April, 1992, fatality at a Grand Trunk Railroad crossing elsewhere in Lenawee County, Defendant’s Board of Commissioners issued a resolution calling for installation of stop signs at all County railroad crossings that did not already have active warning devices such as gates or lights.

Defendant’s managing director, Orrin Gregg, developed a plan to implement this resolution. Because the fatality that led to the Board resolution had occurred at a Grand Trunk crossing, the plan called for stop signs and stop-ahead signs to be placed at these crossings first. The order of placement among the Grand Trunk crossings was determined by assessing traffic counts at the various crossings. However, once stop signs were installed at all Grand Trunk crossings, the order of sign placement among the remaining crossings, including the Norfolk & Southern crossings, was determined by geographic region. Thus, because of its geographic location within Lenawee County, the Packard Road crossing where the collision occurred did not yet have a stop sign at the time of the accident.

III. ARGUMENTS OF THE PARTIES

Plaintiff contends that Defendant breached its duty under Michigan law to maintain Packard Road in a reasonably safe condition by failing to erect traffic signs that properly alert drivers to the allegedly ultrahazardous nature of the Norfolk & Southern railroad crossing. Moreover, Plaintiff argues that the signs Defendant has placed along Packard Road, and particularly the 40 m.p.h. advisory speed plate, actually contribute to the dangerousness of the crossing. Finally, Plaintiff asserts that Defendant’s plan to place stop signs at all Lenawee County railroad crossings improperly failed to prioritize on the basis of the hazardous nature of each crossing. Because of all these failures, Plaintiff argues that the driver of the pickup truck was insufficiently warned of the dangers of the Norfolk & Southern train crossing, and thus she was unable to avoid the collision.

In response, and in support of its motion for summary judgment, Defendant contends that Michigan law grants county road commissions complete immunity from liability for any improper placement of, or failure to place, traffic signs along highways. In addition, Defendant argues that the undisputed facts surrounding the collision reveal that a different set of signs along Packard Road would not have affected the conduct of the driver of the pickup truck.

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Bluebook (online)
905 F. Supp. 421, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16005, 1995 WL 637967, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/burkholder-v-lenawee-county-road-commission-mied-1995.